Action Special 2020

It should come as no surprise to see that Rebellion is touting Action 2020 as one of their most highly-anticipated specials for 2020. After it’s gory, violent, and no-holds-barred beginnings in 1976 from the mind of writer and editor Pat Mills, it quickly became a reader favorite despite being criticized by moral purists.

In fact, a campaign by the infamous Mary Whitehouse and her National Viewers and Listeners Association led to threats of a boycott of all of publisher IPC’s titles, leading to pressure from the publisher’s higher management, resulting in the October 23rd issue being pulped.

When the title returned the following month, the violence was heavily toned down. Sales of the more censored and tamed Action dropped dramatically and it was folded into stablemate Battle a year later. However, Action remains one of the most influential comic books in British history to this day, leading to Mills creating 2000 AD and also inspired a generation of comic book readers and creators! But even after forty-three years without seeing print, fans still remember it’s anarchic, hyper-violent thrills fondly, and have been wishing for more ever since.

Well, hold on to your hats because thanks to Rebellion that long-lost nostalgia only needs to hold out until March! Old and new readers can look forward to seeing the return of the killer shark action of Hook Jaw by Keith Richardson and Dan Lish, dystopian anarchy and juvenile delinquency in Kids Rule OK by Ram V and Henrick Stahlstrom; frontline German Panzer with Hellman of Hammer Force by Garth Ennis and Mike Dorey, merciless secret agent action with Dredger by Zina Hutton and Staz Johnson, and the brand new Hell Machine by Henry Flint and Jake Lynch.

As an added bonus, a special edition of the Action 2020 Special, only available online, will come bagged with a reproduction of the “banned” issue from October 1976.

The Action 2020 Special will be on sale from comic book shops on Wednesday 23rd March, and online at the 2000 AD and the Treasury of British Comics web stores.